West Indies Assistant Coach, Rayon Griffith, is upbeat about the fast bowling unit representing the Caribbean against England in the three-Test series which bowls off tomorrow.
In an interview with Stabroek Sport, the Guyanese expressed, “The fast bowlers are a good bunch. I love this set of fast bowlers.”
Spearheading the West Indies fast bowlers are Shannon Gabriel, who is ranked 19th in the world and Jason Holder and Kemar Roach who rank three and 11 respectively.
Also in the bunch are youngsters, Alzarri Joseph and Chemar Holder.
“I think they are the future of the West Indies fast bowling crop,” Griffith posited.
Griffith said going forward the fast bowlers will need to be managed properly.
“I love what I see in the fast bowling department but it is just now managing them and to make them ready for when the time comes to play,” he stated.
“We have three senior bowlers, Roach, Shannon and the captain [Jason Holder] who are really helping them understand English conditions.
Some of them have experience here said of Roach, Gabriel and Jason Holder who played many years in England and have the experience and understanding of the conditions.
“We know there was a downtime when a lot of the guys weren’t playing cricket but I believe it comes down to being mentally tough. Since arriving we have had some quality preparation at the moment which is really valid for the team,” he said.
Speaking of the upcoming series Griffith said the team needs to perform well in three main areas.
“The key to win in England is going to be how we string all the performances in all three departments, I think we definitely have to have enough runs and we have to bowl and get 20 wickets in the Test matches,” he declared.
Test Squad: Jason Holder (captain), Jermaine Blackwood, Nkrumah Bonner, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Chemar Holder, Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph, Raymon Reifer, Kemar Roach, and Shannon Gabriel
Reserve Players: Sunil Ambris, Joshua DaSilva, Keon Harding, Kyle Mayers, Preston McSween, Marquino Mindley, Shayne Moseley, Anderson Phillip, Oshane Thomas and Jomel Warrican.
